[Physics] If I charge a battery using a much higher current, can it explode

batterieselectric-currentelectricityvoltage

If I have a 12V 4Ah lead acid battery and use a battery charger that, let's say for example, can charge 10A, 50A, or 100A. If I theoretically turned it to 100A will the battery explode?

I understand that when you use a higher current the battery will charge quickly but due to resistance and flow of ions a lot more heat will be generated, so will this heat cause an explosion..or perhaps just a bursting of that battery spewing boiling acid?

And no I am not trying this in real life..I just recall seeing the scene in the Amazing Spider-Man 2 when Parker is trying to build his web shooters to be able to resist large amounts of electricity yet they keep exploding.

Best Answer

Maybe it is worth bringing a comment into an answer:

Batteries have protective circuits.

The most basic safety device in a battery is a fuse that opens on high current. Some fuses open permanently and render the battery useless; others are more forgiving and reset. The positive thermal coefficient (PTC) is such a re-settable device that creates high resistance on excess current and reverts back to the low ON position when the condition normalizes.

So modern batteries are self protected from strong currents.

Here is a video though, which someone made by removing the protective circuits and using high charging currents on lithium batteries.

Uploaded on Aug 15, 2010

Two lithium ion batteries exploding due to overcharging. This isn't to show that lithium batteries are unsafe. I just got bored and decided to blow up a couple cells from an unused battery I had lying around by removing their circuit protection. Explosions are a lot of fun.

And here is an advertising video for safe sheds for charging lead acid batteries, and yes, they do explode when overcharged.

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